A long time ago, I wrote about those fajitas... from a previous post...

... the Fajitas Guajilla (I chose beef) and I loved them. Loved. Loved. Loved them. I've never ordered anything called Fajitas before, because I always thought of them as the things that pass by me in Chili's leaving a trail of smoke and making my hair and clothes smell like that the rest of the day.

This is a heaping plate of flavorful marinated tender beef, with perfectly caramelized onions, perfectly toasted pecans and peanuts, hot dried peppers (I'm sorry I don't know my pepper types, but the first one set my tongue on fire and took what felt like a good thirty minutes of rice and sour cream to get back to normal. Note: I may be a lightweight. Another of the peppers was charred beyond recognition and wasn't hot at all, it just tasted like when you scrape the really good burned bits off the bottom of a skillet after you've cooked something yummy). There were also raisins thrown in, but I didn't taste them outright, I just got a hint of their sweetness in some of the bites. I loved this dish because of how different it was from anything I've had. I've not had that flavor combination before, and it really worked for me. The roasted pecans, especially, gave it a real "autumnal" flavor. Some bites had heat, some were a little sweet, some nutty, it all worked for me. You have to love burnt things a little to love these fajitas. It's the caramelization and toasting that made this hearty and interesting and different.

Yum! Thanks for the tip about the Fajitas Guajillo at Polvo's. It's at the top of my list of things to try. One recommendation for the budget minded: Santa Rita Cantina on 38th St. offers Fajitas for 2 for the price of Fajitas for 1 every Monday night. And seriously, it's so much food that you can easily share it between THREE people. Nothing especially innovative, but the beef does have a nice charred and seasoned flavor.

Even though I try to never frequent chains, Pappasitos has the beef fajitas down better than any that I have ever eaten. They not only start with quality meat, they tenderize the meat in a tumbler machine. The marinade is just right. It does not leave a aftertaste as some others do. My only complaint with the shrimp fajitas is if you forget to ask them to peel them before cooking, they come out with the shells cooked on and you leave most of the meat in the shell.

not an answer to the question, but:The other day i was watching Iron Chef America, and one of the judges, I can't remember his name (the older guy that is always on there) said, and i paraphrase, "fajitas are beef. If i go in a restaurant and they have fajitas on the menu made of anything but beef, i throw the menu down and leave"Right, though he may be, he'd pretty much go hungry these days.

yeah, i used to. I also used to cringe when people refer to any drink in a "martini" glass whether its an appletini, cosmo, Austin's city drink the Battini, etc. as a martini. But, i realize that its a lost cause.